Marathon Oil sells offshore Angola stake

Published 7:23 am, Friday, June 28, 2013

Marathon Oil Corp. is shedding its stake in an offshore block in southern Africa for $1.5 billion as part of a divestment program that the exploration and production firm started two years ago.

The Houston-based company said this week that the deal to sell its 10 percent interest in Block 31 offshore Angola to Sonangol Sinopec International, a joint venture between the state-owned oil companies Sinopec of China and Sonangol of Angola, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

The effective date of the transaction will be retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year, according to a statement from Marathon. Government and regulatory approvals are required.

Sonangol Sinopec International currently holds a 5 percent stake in the block.

The deal, if finalized, would mark $2.9 billion in divestitures Marathon Oil has agreed upon or closed on since 2011, when it said it planned to sell up to $3 billion in assets. The divestitures followed the spinoff of its refining arm.

Just last month, Marathon said it was taking the potential sale of some of its stake in a Canadian oil sands project off the table, but that it still would maintain its divestiture goal. Marathon's discussions regarding the potential sale of a portion of its 20 percent interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Alberta did not result in a deal, and talks with the unnamed suitor were called off. Marathon said at the time that no other talks regarding the potential sale of that asset were planned.

The Athabasca oil sands, in northeastern Alberta, contain large deposits of heavy crude oil. It is regarded as the largest known reservoir of crude bitumen in the world.

Production from the Angola block began last year. British oil giant BP, with a 26.67 percent stake, is the operator. Norwegian oil firm Statoil is among the firms with a stake.